Pediatric Nurse Resume

As a pediatric nurse, you’re the backbone of the pediatric ward. In moments of crisis, you keep kids calm, reassure parents, and help physicians deliver quality medical care.

Whether you’re applying to work in a hospital, PICU, or oncology center, you need to show employers you’re equipped to cope under pressure.

Here are three tips to help you write a job-winning pediatric nurse resume:

1. Clearly list your pediatric nursing credentials

One of the first things an employer will check for on your resume is whether you’re legally licensed to practice. Make that information easy to find on your resume by listing your licenses and certifications in a dedicated section.

To practice nursing, a pediatric nurse must hold an associate’s (ADN) or bachelor’s degree (BSN) in nursing. It’s also essential to show that you’re licensed as an RN in your state.

Additionally, any advanced training will greatly boost your chances of landing an interview. Pediatric nurses draw on specialist knowledge of child development, so many hospitals actually require pediatric certifications.

Here’s what to include for each degree or certification:

• Name of degree or certification
• Date awarded
• Name of institution or certification board

List your degree in your resume’s education section. Licenses and certifications, on the other hand, can fit into a separate certifications section.

This is how your education and certifications sections should look on your pediatric nurse resume:

2. Spotlight your pediatric nursing skills

Working with kids is demanding. As a pediatric nurse, you’ll not only deliver high-quality medical care but also comfort and distract young children in stressful situations.

Showcase your ability to perform these roles by adding a balance of hard and soft skills to your resume.

First, hard skills are the specialized nursing skills you learned through training. Here are some of the essential hard skills you need to fulfill your daily tasks:

• Administering IVs and medication
• First aid
• CPR
• Monitoring vital signs
• Diagnostics and testing
• Performing physical examinations
• Taking blood and urine samples
• Patient management software
• Creating care plans

You also need a diverse set of soft skills, or natural abilities you use to interact with others as a pediatric nurse. For example, to understand children’s non-verbal cues and talk with them in an age-appropriate way, you need solid people skills and empathy.

Here are soft skills hiring managers will look for on your pediatric nurse resume:

• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Attention to detail
• Positivity
• Ability to remain calm under pressure
• Teamwork

Rather than packing all these skills into your skills section, it’s best to work them naturally into your work experience section. Try to link them to specific examples, like in the pediatric resume bullet point below:

• Administer vaccinations, intramuscular antibiotics, and flu shots while communicating with parents to ensure all treatment plans are fully understood before each procedure

3. Quantify your pediatric nursing achievements with hard numbers

Instead of just listing what you can do, prove it by using hard numbers in your pediatric nurse resume’s work experience section.

Providing data highlights your successes as a pediatric nurse and gives a clear picture of what responsibilities you can handle.

For example, add specifics figures for the:

• ages of the children you cared for
• number of children you monitored
• number of nurses you trained
• average patient turnover time you maintained

Here’s how one pediatric nurse used hard numbers to enhance their work experience:

• Reduced turnover time by 25% by recording and communicating patients’ conditions using computerized documentation systems and electronic forms for new incoming patients
• Educated 15 families about the benefits of healthy eating habits for infants and toddlers